My Journey as an Entrepreneur

From I was a youngster in Primary school, which US Citizens would call middle school. I have had this insatiable yearning to do something outstanding and different. I never was the one who followed the crowd, or did anything all the other kids my age was doing. I was the odd one out at all times, even where my family was concerned. Fast forward to two years ago, 2015. I had been working at a very popular Bank in Jamaica for 19 years. Ever since I left High school I have been working. I loved the independence and I got caught up in having that independence. I gave the Bank the best years of my life while I stayed in my cubicle and dreamed about having my own business and being my own boss. That thought never left me and when my entire department got axed and my job was outsourced to India, I saw that tragedy to some, as an opportunity for me to finally be my own boss. I was paid off and I knew exactly what I wanted to get into because It had been a thought of mine for some years now. This was the T-Shirt Printing business. Some may think it's a Teenager's dream, and maybe it was, but it was my dream and I wanted to make my own money and call the shots. That was my dream but I had to ensure I came up with a plan to execute so that it would be successful.

Getting Gassed up

Being home with this money that I was paid seemed like the dream. But I still had bills and the money was going down fast. I had to execute my plan as quickly as possible so that I could keep myself afloat and don't end up with nothing in the end. I had a neighbor named Waine, who was into Trucking before for some years but was moving back into printing because he had gotten fired from his job. It was an easy transition for him because he was no stranger to it and he was teaching me, or telling me all he knew about the industry as I told him my interest in it. His stories of all the people he knew that was making millions from the Industry started to get me thinking bigger. He told me of a lot of people who did not own large format Printers who were making lots and lots of money despite that fact. He told me also of all the Printer owners he knew that had life so easy because they made so much money per month they didn't have to worry about a thing. I was so excited, because I had the money to get me a Printer and If I got this and so many people didn't own printers they would definitely print with me if I offered the same quality or better, with a faster delivery time at a cheaper rate. He agreed and convinced me to buy one and he would assist me with getting in customers because he was so well known and all these people would listen to him.

We spoke of Partnering up because he was not pleased with the person he was working with. He wanted more and she was not willing to pay and also he said she could use me too as she didn't own a Printer either although she got a tonne of the jobs. She really did get all the major jobs but these jobs were because of him. He knew how to work and he made her look good. So when I thought of all of this. A great worker who knew all the sign-making industry, who was willing to work with me and get me customers and also bringing on a woman with all the top contracts. This was a no-brainer. I couldn't possibly lose on my investment with all these things in mind? I was so wrong. I haven't lost it all , because I still own the machine after I traveled to the US and drove hours to find a buyer who had one that was in good working order. From Connecticut I drove to Massachusetts and back to Ct then passed to get to New York where the cheapest shipping Agency was. I got the machine out of the truck and to the shipper who was a Jamaican, made me feel proud that a Jamaican was in America owning a successful business, and that too gave me some hope of being successful when i got home with my machine.

Now I am Back home in Jamaica waiting for my delivery to be made and making arrangements to have the printer placed into my back room, which is now my office. After three weeks of waiting it finally came and I had to pay a broker to clear it from Customs. I knew of the cost and that too was not a very cheap cost. "This business has to work and give me back my money ", I thought to myself. It started out slow and not much work was coming in, until I got in contact with a friend of mine who introduced me to a friend of hers who worked as a designer at a 5 star Hotel. I did a few jobs and made sure he got his cut for his services and then the work stopped.

The last job I did for them the printer started acting up and then it just started giving me error messages that I couldn't figure out. Everything looked good with the machine, so I didn't know why it was behaving the way it did. I had to spend money to get the work done just to not lose the client, so I operated at a loss and still had to pay the designer money for giving me the job. I bought parts and paid for express shipping and finally got the machine working through some advise from a Technician in the United states. He helped me with no charge. such a good guy. With the Hotel not doing much and money was being paid out with no income for a few months after that, I started feeling discouraged but I stayed steadfast to my dream.

Excitement

I sent emails out and gave business cards out and finally got a call from a Marketing Manager I had given my card to at an Expo. She told me where she was calling from and asked me to send a quotation to her on a 30ft trailer she wanted branded with her company's artwork.I won the contract and that was the largest work I got. I watched my printer work I was so proud and I had the support of my family in getting this work completed. Even my girlfriend came on the trip and got her hands dirty to see my work come to life. I delivered and the Marketing Manager was pleased. I will be sure to get more work after this. Nothing else came from her. I was here with a giant of a Printer with my finances going down and nothing coming in to assist with the bills I still had to be paying. So I am here now, still holding on to this dream and sometimes wondering if I should sell and invest it all into Crypto Currencies. I even asked some advise from people I know in successful businesses, and some members of my family and even friends what I should do. Most say keep the Printer and keep trying until things change and a few have advised me to sell and invest and try something new. It has been a year now since I have been in this business and I have only gotten 8 projects. Out of those 8 projects only two were major.

I will give this until the end of the year, If I can hold on that long before I sell and start over or get a big enough contract to make it in this industry. I have lost faith and regained my faith a few times during this journey, but I refuse to give up without trying everything, and I don't think I have tried everything just yet. But, this all boils down to money and if I don;t have it I wont be able to execute my plan effectively to turn things around. This is just my thoughts and things I want to share. So comment, upvote, resteem and all those good things.

Valentino out!!! @moneytino